red brocket

{{Speciesbox

| name = Red brocket

| image = Red Brocket (Mazama americana) male (28091090800).jpg

| status = DD

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=Duarte, J.M.B. |author2=Vogliotti, A. |date=2016 |title=Mazama americana |volume=2016 |page=e.T29619A22154827 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T29619A22154827.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}

| genus = Mazama

| species = americana

| authority = (Erxleben, 1777)

| range_map = Mazama americana distribution.png

}}

The red brocket (Mazama americana) is a species of brocket deer from forests in South America, ranging from northern Argentina to Colombia and the Guianas.{{MSW3 Artiodactyla | id = 14200231 | page = }} It also occurs on the Caribbean island of Trinidad (it also occurred on the island of Tobago until very recent historical times, but has been extirpated there).

Taxonomy

It formerly included the Central American red brocket (M. temama) and sometimes the Yucatan brown brocket (M. pandora) as subspecies.{{cite journal |last=Medellín |first=Rodrigo A. |author2=Alfred L. Gardner |author3=J. Marcelo Aranda |date=April 1998 |title=The taxonomic status of the Yucatán brown brocket, Mazama pandora (Mammalia: Cervidae) |journal=Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington |volume=111 |issue=1 |pages=1–14 |url=http://www.ecologia.unam.mx/laboratorios/rmedellin/2010/PUB/0011.pdf |access-date=10 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722230526/http://www.ecologia.unam.mx/laboratorios/rmedellin/2010/PUB/0011.pdf |archive-date=22 July 2011 }} Considerable taxonomic confusion still exists for the populations remaining in the red brocket. Pending a solution to this, it has been evaluated as data deficient by the IUCN, though as presently defined, it is the most widespread species of brocket. It is sympatric with the smaller Amazonian brown brocket over much of its range (the latter tends to have significantly lower population densities). The karyotype of the red brocket was initially described as having 2n = 68, FN = 74, and more recently as having 2n varying from 48 to 54 and FN varying from 54 to 56. This variability may indicate the presence of unrecognized species in the population.

Description

Its body is reddish-brown in color, with a lighter grayish-brown head and neck, and partially blackish legs.Trolle, M., and L. H. Emmons (2004). A record of a dwarf brocket from lowland Madre de Dios, Peru. Deer Specialist Group Newsletter 19: 2–5 The inner thighs and the underside of the tail are white. Fawns are spotted white and lack blackish to the legs. Only the adult male has antlers, and these are small and spike-like. This species is the largest of the brockets. The shoulder height is {{convert|67|-|80|cm|in|abbr=on}} and the head and body length {{convert|105|-|144|cm|in|abbr=on}}. These deer typically weigh {{convert|24|-|48|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, but exceptional males may get as large as {{convert|65|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.Nowak, R. M. (eds) (1999). Walker's Mammals of the World. 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press.

Diet and behaviour

The red brocket browses on vegetation (mainly grasses and tender green roots),{{cite web|url=https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogatt/Mazama_americana%20-%20Red%20Brocket%20Deer.pdf|title=Mazama americana (Red Brocket Deer) |website=Sta.uwi.edu|access-date=9 April 2022}} preferring fruit and seeds when it is available. They are also known to feed on fungi.{{cite web|url=https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogatt/Mazama_americana%20-%20Red%20Brocket%20Deer.pdf|title=Mazama americana (Red Brocket Deer) |website=Sta.uwi.edu|access-date=9 April 2022}} In extreme cases where fruit and fungi become scarce, it may eat stems, bark, petioles, leaves, and animal matter instead.{{cite web | url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Mazama_americana/ | title=Mazama americana (Red brocket) | website=Animal Diversity Web }} It is generally solitary and stays in dense jungles. When alarmed, the animal snorts or stomps its hooves.

Hybrids with [[Mazama nana]]

The occurrence of hybrids between the two species was documented in captivity.{{cite journal |last1=Duarte |first1=J. M. B. |last2=Jorge |first2=W. |title=Morphologic and Cytogenetic Description of the Small Red Brocket (Mazama bororo Duarte,1996) in Brazil |journal=Mammalia |date=1 January 2003 |volume=67 |issue=3 |pages=403–410 |doi=10.1515/mamm.2003.67.3.403 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/mamm.2003.67.3.403/html |access-date=22 April 2024}}